Friday, February 22, 2013

Geoffrey's Headlamps

Colombo Colombo Colombo. As an Architect, think of Sri
Lanka and you think Geoffrey Bawa. Think of Colombo and you think romantic
colonial ruins with colonial dudes wearing fresh linen and turbans serving you
Gin & Tonics. Or is that just me?

Nonetheless, while Colombo only partially delivered on
that front, we did get a glimpse of what life must have been like for Geoffrey
Bawa, staying in his Colombo house, still tended for by the same house keepers
who served him till his death 10 years ago. This Rolls Royce last left the
garage in 1983 when Geoffrey drove to see the inauguration of his new Sri Lankan
parliament.

Beyond that, beautiful Art, sculptures and photos
graced the walls of this mentalist rabbit warren collage of a house. Hidden
rooms with the occasional door ajar showed more of what was buried within.
Whatever, it must have been a pretty cool life to lead for a man who is probably
the only famous Architect to come out of this small island. Keep it cocktail.

Full set of photos from the trip up on this link if you're interested: